RAIL ECO-TOURISM

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government is preparing any scheme for rail eco¬tourism;
(b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
(c) the amount spent for Nilgiri Mountain Rail Service and the amount of income earned during the last three years along with the details thereof;
(d) whether the Government proposes to compensate the loss being caused to this heritage service; and
(e) if so, the details thereof ?

(a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF STARRED QUESTION NO.6 BY SHRI ARVIND SAWANT TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 18.07.2018 REGARDING RAIL ECO¬TOURISM

(a) and (b): Presently, there is no separate scheme / plan regarding Rail Eco-tourism on Indian Railways. However, certain eco-tourism destinations like Munnar, Thekkady, Thenmala, Courtallam, Mudumalai etc. are covered as part of tour packages operated by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).

(c): The amount spent for Nilgiri Mountain Rail Service and the amount of income earned by Indian Railways during the last three years is as under:

Period

Earnings ( D In Crore)

Expenditure (D In Crore)

2015-16

1.89

22.34

2016-17

1.99

26.74

2017-18

1.82

28.00

(d) and (e): Nilgiri Hill Railway is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Indian Railways operates Nilgiri Mountain Rail Service for facilitating tourists of this catchment area. Though Indian Railways incurs losses on operation of this service, there is no proposal to compensate the losses incurred on operating this heritage service.